Survival and Functional Status Outcomes in Heart Transplant Recipients: An Analysis of Organs From Donors Who Overdosed

Introduction

Escalating deaths associated with the opioid crisis has increased availability of transplant organs from donors who died of a drug overdose, yet perception of these organs as "increased risk" contributes to their unnecessary discard. Previous research addressing this issue has focused solely on survival outcomes, but quality of life is also a crucial factor in determining transplant success.